Record Black Friday sales boost profits at online firm

Profits jumped at online retailer Findels thanks to record Black Friday sales, the company said.

The Hyde based firm published its half year report this morning.

Adjusted profit before tax was £11.6m, an increase of 2.3%. Meanwhile revenues were up by 1.7% to £228m.

The firm’s active customer base now at stands at 1.9m, up from 1.8m at the end of March 2018, with clothing performing particularly strongly.

Findels specialises in early years, primary and secondary school supplies, teaching and educational resources.

There was a strong performance towards the end of the reporting period with record trading levels in the three weeks to Black Friday.

The company said that after a quiet second quarter trading in the last 10 weeks has been strong and in line with expectations.

Sales were driven by Express Gifts’ most successful ever Black Friday campaign, and total revenue for that business increased by 7.7%

Phil Maudsley, group chief executive said: “This has been a period of continued progress and profit growth, driven by Studio’s hugely attractive customer proposition as a digital first, value retailer.

“In particular, I am delighted to have seen more customers than ever choose to shop with Studio. More and more new customers are now recognising our incredible value, while our existing customer base are shopping more frequently and across an increased range of products.

“In education too, we continue to make operational progress as the turnaround of that business performs to plan.

“We have been pleased with the start to the second half, buoyed by a record-breaking Black Friday period, and we are well placed as we head into Christmas. Our expectations for the full year remain unchanged.”